HowdyCon 2016: Tony Ortega Event June 17-19 Cleveland Gateway Radisson http://tonyortega.org/2016/01/01/sc...ling-the-poster-for-howdycon-2016/#more-27664 http://howdycon.com/
The HowdyCon FAQ By Tony Ortega, March 2, 2016 Based on some messages and questions we’ve received in the last few weeks, we perceive that there’s a little confusion over our upcoming confab in Cleveland. So to help out, we’ve put together this little list of frequently asked questions. http://tonyortega.org/2016/03/02/do...or-billboard-about-scientology-disconnection/
HowdyCon update: We need you to respond By Tony Ortega, May 20, 2016 Yesterday, we had some great Bunker readers leap into the fray when we indicated that we’d lost the organizer of our upcoming meetup in Cleveland, HowdyCon, which takes place June 17-19. With help from our new volunteers, we secured a great venue for our Saturday night event, which we’re going to make sure will be the centerpiece of the weekend. But now, we need to know who’s coming so we can figure out how to feed you all. If you’re going to HowdyCon and you plan on joining us Saturday night for our main event, please drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com. Please let us know how many will be in your party. We need that information to cater the affair. Thank you. http://tonyortega.org/2016/05/20/sc...ortion-lawsuit-and-wants-recent-order-voided/
On Thursday, we had some great Bunker readers leap into the fray when we indicated that we’d lost the organizer of our upcoming meetup in Cleveland, HowdyCon, which takes place June 17-19. With help from our new volunteers, we secured a great venue for our Saturday night event, which we’re going to make sure will be the centerpiece of the weekend. And so we asked for folks to send us a message to confirm that they’re coming so we could get a head count. Well, it turns out that we not only have numerous longtime commenters who we’re looking forward to meet, but some really surprising names as well. We’re definitely going to put together a little program for that night — you’re going to want to hear from these folks. We’ll spill the beans about our special guests at some point. But for now, we’ll just say you’re really going to want to be at our dinner Saturday night if you can make it. If you are coming and haven’t notified us yet, please drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com and let us know how many will be in your party. We need that information to cater the affair. Thank you. http://tonyortega.org/2016/05/22/sc...ho-can-heal-this-horse-just-with-your-finger/
HowdyCon is here By Tony Ortega, June 17, 2016 We’re going to do our best to keep the blog going as normal this weekend. In the comments, however, you may be seeing a lot of messages about something called “HowdyCon,” and so we thought some explanation was in order. Last year, while we were traveling around the country on a speaking tour to support our book The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, one of our readers asked, why are you visiting so many places? In response, we quipped that we would need to see what cities were like before choosing one for a convention. We were joking, but that utterance took on a life of its own. Soon, readers had organized a vote to decide where to have a meetup, and Cleveland was chosen. So we’re having a small gathering there of about 50 folks who enjoy this website. We chose the name “HowdyCon” to honor a beloved commenter, Steven L. “Captain Howdy” Cox, who died on March 6, 2015. We’re also going to honor the memory of Mary Marinelli, known in the Bunker as “Sugarplumfairy,” who passed away on January 9. We’ll be meeting very informally, with the main event being a dinner on Saturday night which will feature a special guest we’re looking forward to talking with. We’re sure the participants will keep you up on what’s going on. http://tonyortega.org/2016/06/17/friday-2/
HOWDYCON 2017 IS HERE — DENVER IS CLEAR! By Tony Ortega, June 22, 2017 Excerpt: Last year, we met for the first time in Cleveland, Ohio. And what a time we had. Carnegie Mellon University professor Dave Touretzky flew out in his private plane, Pete Griffiths and Johnny Tank came all the way from Europe, and the little Fly larvae honored Steve “Captain Howdy” Cox with a shark costume. Some of the early arrivals are flying and driving to Denver today. The reliable Kim O’Brien has arranged everything, and she wanted us to give out her email address (kimob924 AT gmail DOT com) and she’ll let you know where this evening’s festivities are. What we can tell you is that we’ll be at a venue where we can imbibe while watching My Scientology Movie, and one of the stars of the film, Marc Headley, will be on hand to answer your questions about it. <snipped> Back in 2015, we were on a barnstorming book tour, visiting cities all over the place in support of our book about Paulette Cooper, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely. At some point, one of our commenters asked why we were stopping in so many places, and we quipped that we needed to see them all before choosing one for holding a convention. That joke took on a life of its own, and soon our readers were voting for where they wanted a convention to take place. Cleveland was chosen, and that’s where we got together last year. About 50 regular readers of the Underground Bunker toured the town and talked and laughed, and on Saturday night we had our big catered dinner, and brief addresses from several invited guests. We named the gathering “HowdyCon” in remembrance of Steve “Captain Howdy” Cox, a beloved commenter who died in 2015. We also dedicated it to Mary “sugarplumfairy” Marinelli, another favorite commenter who had recently passed away. This year, we’re in Denver, which is a particularly good city for running into prominent ex-Scientology figures. We look forward to seeing them, and posting photos of them for you. For now, here are a few shots from last year. More at http://tonyortega.org/2017/06/22/howdycon-2017-is-here-see-you-in-denver/
Journalist Tony Ortega’s Scientology Gathering Began as a Joke Second edition is happening this weekend in Denver By Richard Horgan, Adweek To the gang in Denver this weekend, we say: break an E-meter! More: http://www.adweek.com/digital/tony-ortegas-howdycon-2017-denver/
HowdyCon 2017 is all about the Bunker community By Tony Ortega, June 23, 2017 Quote: Wow, what a great time we had last night, with old friends coming together to meet new friends in Downtown Denver for HowdyCon 2017. Kim O’Brien really set us up well at the Curtis Club, where we imbibed while watching My Scientology Movie and got some great behind-the-scenes anecdotes from one of the movie’s stars, Marc Headley. Marc even put a slide show together about it, and so we’ve decided to add his presentation to tomorrow night’s big event, along with his wife Claire, journalist Steve Cannane, and actress Cathy Schenkelberg. As for today, we’ll be scattering around town to get the genuine Denver experience, and then meeting again for happy hour drinks tonight. Continued at http://tonyortega.org/2017/06/23/we...iden-voyage-robo-call-invitation-los-angeles/
"Hey, guise, I have a grate eye deer. Let's all get together in R/L for a AUUUUUGH! B-LB-LB-LB-LB!" FLUSH ~Gaaaasp~ "No, really, it would be lots of fun! I know this nice bar where they serve AUUUUUGH! B-LB-LB-LB-LB!" FLUSH ~Choke~ ~Wheeze~ "Oh, come on! You need to get out more and live a little. Life isn't all AUUUUUGH! B-LB-LB-LB-LB!" FLUSH Nothing personal. That's just how we roll here at WWP.
Scientology watchers, one mile high: HowdyCon 2017’s big night is here Australian journalist Steve Cannane arrived from London. More: https://whyweprotest.net/threads/ho...june-17-19-cleveland-gateway-radisson.130987/
There's a related post in the Scientology to Marc and Claire Headley: Spy For Us thread: Claire Headley on growing up in Scientology, and other HowdyCon highlights By Tony Ortega, June 25, 2017 https://whyweprotest.net/threads/sc...headley-spy-for-us.104974/page-2#post-2611601
From http://tonyortega.org/2017/06/30/we...tologists-are-receiving-from-a-federal-judge/ Audio Waybacked
HowdyCon: From “Squeeze My Cans,” Cathy Schenkelberg’s sexy Scientology sec-check! By Tony Ortega, July 1, 2017 Quote: Last Saturday night in Denver, HowdyCon was capped off with a performance by Cathy Schenkelberg, who dazzled us with a scene taken from her one-woman play, “Squeeze My Cans.” She has generously shared her script from that scene for the rest of our readers to enjoy. In the play, she dramatizes her journey in Scientology, which cost her nearly a $1 million for counseling and interrogations. <snipped> Cathy Schenkelberg performs “Squeeze My Cans” on July 17 at the Sacred Fools Theater in Los Angeles. The next night she premieres the new cabaret version of her show, “Squeeze My Cans Again.” Both shows are fundraisers to help get Cathy to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. http://tonyortega.org/2017/07/01/ho...thy-schenkelbergs-sexy-scientology-sec-check/
Inside HowdyCon, a Gathering of Anti-Scientologists By Seth Abramovitch, Hollywood Reporter, June 24, 2019 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/inside-howdycon-a-gathering-anti-scientologists-1220703